Best Food Products | May 2014

We're Abuzz Over These 6 May Must Haves

Spring's in full swing, and we can't wait to share our favorite food-related finds with you. Keep reading for details on a picnic-ready bottled cocktail (that's actually delicious!), Jon Favreau's buzzy new film Chef, and a novel from one of our favorite food writers, plus much more.

Jon Favreau wrote, directed, and starred in Chef, out May 9, a film about a Los Angeles-based chef whose violent outbursts toward a food critic go viral online, causing him to lose his job and start afresh with a food truck. The film has been the topic of much discussion in the food world, since Roy Choi trained the actor in the kitchen and developed all the food seen in the movie. "I'd only do the movie if it looked absolutely real," chef Choi explained, and the film certainly succeeds in the authenticity department. It's a fascinating look inside a restaurant kitchen (and food truck) to reveal all the excruciating details required to send delicious and buzz-worthy food out to people.

— Anna Monette Roberts, assistant editor

Strip and Go Bare

I love cocktails; bottled cocktails, not so much. Too often they're saccharinely sweet, flat-tasting, or just plain bad. The exception: Strip and Go Bare ($13), a tart, almost too-quaffable sparkling vodka lemonade. (Think of it as a refined, far less sweet take on Mike's Hard Lemonade.) Take a peek into my picnic tote on any given sunny Saturday, and you're likely to find a bottle or two tucked in among the cheese and crackers.

The days of stale, sad office coffee are over thanks to Joyride Coffee. It distributes premium, freshly roasted coffee to offices in New York and the Bay Area, and it guarantees the coffee to cost less per cup than a Keurig pod. (Stumptown, Blue Bottle, and Four Barrel are just a few of the many impressive brands they stock.) The service provides seasonal coffee from every coffee-growing region of the world and for every palate (from light, floral coffees to dark, rich blends). And to top off all that good stuff, the company is also known for its cold-brew keg, which dispenses a smooth-tasting chilled coffee that contains twice the caffeine of a standard hot cup.

We were able to score a tasting in our SF office, and these guys proved to be true coffee connoisseurs. They energetically educated our office on rare coffee beans, unique roasting techniques, and the best brewing equipment out there. Let the delicious buzz begin.

We've seen so many awful flavored alcohols out there that we almost passed on the opportunity to try Spiced Wine ($23), a blend of red wines (Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Grenache) fortified with a Sauvignon Blanc brandy, and naturally infused with spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, etc.). But upon first sip, our preconceptions dissolved. This wine reminds us of vanilla mulled wine with warming baking spices and jammy sweetness, but it's more versatile. Depending on the season, it can be sipped chilled in a wineglass, served warm in a mug, or poured over ice like a sangria. Spiced wine has been around since ancient Egyptian times (around 3150 BC), trickling throughout Greece, Rome, and the rest of Western Europe, so it's about time America embraced this tradition.